Trivia

History

Originally on the A1 northbound, the services were upgraded from a roadside café to service area status in 1977. For years it was thought the services would close when the A1 became A1(M) and the Leeming exit closed, but it has now been given permission to expand into a large, but distant, service area.

Motorway Era

Leeming Bar had put in an application to build a new truckstop at one of the new junctions on the A1 but this, as with other controversies such as Kirby Hill, was rejected in favour of expanding the current site. With the owners struggling to fund the refurbishment, in 2014 Moto took over the services, giving them a near-monopoly on services between Blyth and Washington.

By September 2014 the petrol station, which had reopened as a Texaco when Rainton closed, had been rebranded as BP, an established Moto partner. The cafe, which traced its history to one opened by the previous owners, the Les family, on the old A1 north of Leeming in the 1940s, had undergone a minor refurbishment and been rebranded as a Costa, though it retained a hot food counter and served EDC products. The large shop, the Yorkshire Maid, had closed and been replaced by a small shop with WHSmith fittings and signage joining salvaged furniture in the main cafe, in a room previously used as a shop, an office or an alcove for takeaway food. The McDonald's remained although offers promoting Burger King at other Moto sites were advertised in the cafe. The Lodge retained its independent branding and character as a local amenity, including Benedict's restaurant.